“To proceed, O people: the prohibition of khamr was revealed when it was made from five things: grapes, dates, honey, wheat and barley. Khamr is whatever clouds the mind.”

There are many hadiths from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on this subject. They make clear that the khamr he prohibited is a term encompassing every intoxicant, whether made from honey, dates, wheat, barley, mares’ milk or anything else.

In the Sunan collections, ‘Ā’ishah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Every intoxicant is forbidden. If a faraq-measure of something intoxicates, even a palmful of it is forbidden.”

Al-Tirmidhī graded this hadith sound. The compilers of the Sunan collections also reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whatever intoxicates in large quantities is forbidden in small quantities.”

This was transmitted through reports from Jābir, Ibn ‘Umar, ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb—from his father, from his grandfather—and others. Al-Dāraqutnī and others graded it authentic.

This is the position of the overwhelming majority of leading Muslim scholars: the Companions, the Successors, and the leading authorities in the scholarly centres and in transmitted traditions. However, some Muslim scholars heard that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had permitted nabīdh (an infused drink), and that the Companions used to drink it, so they assumed that it was an intoxicating drink. That was not the case. Rather, the nabīdh drunk by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Companions was made by steeping dates, raisins or similar things in water until it became sweet. He would drink it on the first, second and third days, but would not drink it after three days, lest it have begun to develop intoxicating strength. If it developed that strength before then, it would not be drunk.

Moreover,